How Mainstream Media is Still Trying to Censor Independent Outlets

     In the Boston Globe article titled "Don't Stamp out the Brainy Mags," the editorial details the postal hike in 2007 that sent the rates up for magazine distribution. The hike was proposed by media conglomerate Time Warner Cable, and costs for shipping out magazines to subscribers of independent publications would jump by $500,000 — and Time Warner–owned magazines would not face a similar burden. It seemed Time Warner was on a mission to censor small, independent publications that could not afford a major expense. With the smaller and poorer magazines out of the way, Time Warner would have less competition and continue their way to a monopoly on the media.
     But what's most concerning about this proposition was the government's unwillingness to intervene. The U.S. Postal Service's mission is the following: "“The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.” If a government-provided service is supposed to serve all communities fairly and equally, how was this hike by Time Warner at all fair and equal under the postal service's mission statement? The conclusion of the article mentions how Congress must get involved to protect the rights of every citizen to fair postage. This implies Congress was not planning on getting involved or regulating the government-run service — all to heed the demands of a media conglomerate.
     With Congress' unwillingness to step in and Time Warner's blatant censorship, published voices become less diverse and fewer important stories get created and shared. Efforts to thwart independent media are grand and still continue nearly 10 years later. Just a few days ago, AT&T bought Time Warner, further monopolizing the market on mainstream media. Mainstream sources are uniting and becoming more powerful as they try to stamp out independent outlets.

Why Blogging is an Important Tool Against Mainstream Media

     Blogs have come a long way since their inception. Certain bloggers in recent years are being recognized as proper journalists, despite not publishing through a mainstream media outlet. Flashback to 2004 when The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz wrote an article titled, "After Blogs Got Hits, CBS Got a Black Eye." Being 12 years since independent bloggers Scott Johnson and Charles Johnson called out the fallacies in 60 Minutes' report on George W. Bush's documents concerning the Air National Guard service, bloggers have changed the way mainstream media is viewed and fact checked. Although the credibility of bloggers has fluctuated through the years, one fact remains constant: Someone needs to call mainstream media out on their crap.

     When the Johnsons took their time to fact check 60 Minutes, they crowd-sourced their material. Charles Johnson gathered citizen journalists and other sources to check the veracity of CBS' story. "We've got a huge pool of highly motivated people who go out there and use the tools to find stuff," Charles Johnson said in the article. "We've got an army of citizen journalists out there."

     CBS was embarrassed to be found out. If not for independent media and bloggers, this sort of work could never have been done. Attention would never have been drawn to CBS' mistakes if Charles Johnson and Scott Johnson did not have a platform to do so. As bloggers are becoming more popular and are being taking more seriously over the years, it's likely that independent journalists will continue to call mainstream media out on their fallacies. 

     

Profile of Rookie Magazine

     Rookie is a fashion and feminist magazine founded by Tavi Gevinson, which spurred from a blog she began at the age of 11. Each month's content has a different theme — this month is "Cast of Characters," or identity — covering issues revolving around relationships, school, fashion and more. Rookie also publishes lighthearted comics each month. Regardless of the type of content covered, each piece takes a feminist angle. Rookie aims to empower young girls as most of the content is written by teens for teens.
     In an interview with CNN, Gevinson explained the lack of representation of women in mainstream media. Because of this gap in coverage, Rookie was born. Aside from appealing only to white women, the publication is inclusive of all gender identities and races, displaying strong intersectional themes. Few — if any — mainstream publications are cognizant of women's struggles in society, and providing women a safe space in media is one of the main appeals to the magazine.
     Despite the positives, Rookie does not have many resources for funding. There are no ads on the website, and the only source for revenue comes from the shop. Gevinson's store sells yearbooks annually, which act as a full roundup of the stories published throughout the year, and it sells T-shirts. Each book goes for about $30 each, and each shirt for about $20. With little funding, this may be a problem for Rookie in the future; however, with the magazine's open-mind to submissions, perhaps freelance work will help keep the publication financially stable. Combined with national coverage from several news outlets and recognition from famous celebrities, Rookie seems to be in good condition.

Profile of Upworthy

     Social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter weren't designed with the intention of sharing news articles or videos. Over the past couple of years, users shifted their focus from sharing personal photos and statuses to sharing quirky stories and videos they found interesting. Puppy videos, cooking videos, memes and random stories (often devoid of serious meaning) became the primary content on newsfeeds — and that's where Upworthy comes in. Upworthy is an independent news outlet that seeks to bring attention to stories that matter.
     "Lots of media companies have a mission," their website reads. "But Upworthy is on a mission to change what the world pays attention to."
     Upworthy first began as a sort of wire where stories were shared from on social media. The founders understood the public craved better stories on their social media feeds, and they were correct. As Upworthy gained success, the staff decided to create its own content. The stories shared are inspirational, uplifting and meaningful, contrary to the former content shared. They don't have traditional story beats such as sports and politics, instead the stories are categorized into different positive topics: "Being a Better Human," "Citizenship & Democracy," "Culture," "Education," "Health and Well-being," "Identities," "Inspiration," "Money and Work," "Places," "Relationships" and "Science and Technology."
     In terms of revenue, Upworthy does not ask its readers and viewers for donations, nor does the site have many (if any at all) advertisements. The only obvious advertisements are the ones on the publication's YouTube videos. Fans of Upworthy don't need to pay for content either: clicking on the "Subscribe" tab on the website places you on a free e-mailing list. With such few attempts to earn money, Upworthy prides itself on being a wholesome source for news that sticks to its mission of upholding integrity.
     And this integrity is most admirably displayed in the job descriptions: "Everyone at Upworthy has unlimited time off. To make sure folks are actually recharging, we even give a vacation bonus that can only be used for taking an actual phone-off, not-checking-in vacation."
     Upworthy builds positive content, but it also creates a positive work environment. The mission of the publication is clear and resonates throughout every aspect of the business. "We're all part of the same story," and Upworthy expresses that in every aspect of the site.